OPEC
Takes Center Stage

Did
the war cause the oil crisis? The answer is yes, and no:

Because
of the war, the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OAPEC) declared an oil embargo
against the United States and the Netherlands - countries judged
too friendly to Israel. The embargo caused severe energy shortages
over the winter of 1973-74.

At
the same time, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
(OPEC) sharply raised the price of crude oil. Although
OPEC acted mainly for economic reasons, the war did serve as a
catalyst. (OPEC includes the OAPEC countries, plus other non-Arab
oil exporters such as Algeria, Indonesia, Ecuador, and Venezuela.)

Ultimately, it was the steep oil-price increases of the 1970s, not
the politically motivated 1973 embargo that intensified high inflation,
caused a global recession, and drastically altered most countries'
balance of payments.